Bachmann, Ellison join to oppose tax-cut deal

When’s the last time Rep. Keith Ellison and Rep. Michele Bachmann agreed on a major vote?

As Hot Dish’s Kevin Diaz wrote earlier this week, Ellison and Bachmann have risen on opposite sides of the political spectrum in Washington.

But on late Thursday night, as the House passed President Obama’s tax-cut compromise, the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Tea Party Caucus joined together to vote against the measure.

Ellison, Bachmann and Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum were three of 148 “no” votes on the tax cut accord, which extended the Bush tax cuts for two years and unemployment for 13 months.

Of course, while Ellison, McCollum and Bachmann voted the same way, they did so for opposite reasons: Bachmann opposed tying unemployment to the tax cuts, while the Twin Cities Democrats opposed cutting taxes for the rich.

Read more about the deal, which also addresses the estate tax and cuts Social Security taxes, here. The president will sign the bill today.

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."